The South Korean star Yuna Kim overcame a bout of nerves to put herself in prime position for the Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating on Wednesday, after 15-year-old Russian sensation Julia Lipnitskaia fell on a triple flip and slipped down the rankings.

Nerves almost got the best of Kim in the short program, and her 0.28-point lead over the 17-year-old Russian Adelina Sotnikov is almost as slim as it could get. Sotnikov’s snappy routine had the crowd on its feet before she finished her final spin, but Kim showed she is still the favorite to win another title.

Italy’s Carolina Kostner, whose Ave Maria program is almost a religious experience for her, was just behind. Chicago’s Gracie Gold was fourth, within striking distance after overcoming a sense of stage fright.

Lipnitskaia, who won both programs in the team event to help the hosts take the gold, broke down in tears after her routine was marred by the fall. “This does not define her career or who she is as an athlete,” coach Eteri Tutberidze said through a translator. “She simply made a mistake. That’s all. It happens.”

When it happened, the crowd was stunned. And Kim had the lead, but barely, over Sotnikova.

Winning routine

Yuna Kim of South Korea performs during the women's short program at the 2014 Winter Games. Photograph: Barbara Walton/EPA

Strong showing for US

US champion Gracie Gold, second to Lipnitskaia in the team free skate, had a clean short program to sneak in ahead of Lipnitskaia by 3.4 points. “To be able to come up here and feel stiff and white as a ghost but stare fear in the face is what I’m all about now,” the 18-year-old Gold said.

Ashley Wagner of Alexandria, Virginia, and Polina Edmunds of San Jose, California, were sixth and seventh — a very strong showing for the United States.

Should she hang on to first place on Friday, Kim, 23, would become the third woman to win consecutive Olympics, following Sonja Henie and Katarina Witt. She acknowledged her nerves on Wednesday. “I am a human being,” she said. “I get nervous all the time. It just doesn’t show on my face.”